Silver Bullet (1985)
Directed By: Daniel Attias
The Prologue
In the history of films dealing with werewolves, two films seem to always be named as the best. One of those is An American Werewolf in London. The other is this film here written by Stephen King, Silver Bullet. Silver Bullet here was based of a story from King and was directed by a man named, Daniel Attias. It also has such stars in it, such as a very young Corey Haim and a less crazy, Gary Busey. When you add it all up with a very bad wolf, you have the makings of a werewolf movie that I wouldn't call the best, but it's still pretty darn fun.
The Movie
The small town of Tarker's Mill was a place that was very peaceful, where nothing ever happened. Until one night, murders begin. The town people believe its some maniac killer on the loose and intend to hunt the man down. Marty, a young handicapped boy, believes that the killer is no man at all, but a werewolf. After a run in with the werewolf Marty and his sister, Jane hunt all over town for the man who is the werewolf.
Set in the 70s, Silver Bullet is narrated by a character named, Jane. Jane is played by Megan Follows. She goes into telling us all about the events that are about to unfold and how they related to her wheelchair bound brother, Marty (Haim), and her crazy uncle, Red (Beusey). It's a simple enough lead-in. Of course, with her being the narrator, you don't really figure the film is smart enough to have a ghost of someone be telling the story, so if Jane will survive the events of the film or not never does seem to be in question. Which is OK, she's not that interesting. The stars of the film, besides our werewolf, is Marty and Uncle Red.
And as much as I'm sure everyone loved a young Corey Haim, I personally think we should give the devil his due and let it be known that it's actually Gary Busey that steals the show. This man plays the best crazy uncle I can recall this side of John Candy and uncle Buck. I will have to admit, I didn't care who lived just as long as uncle Red made it. But it's still a very fun film that packs some tense and fun moments and scenes. The wolf transformation isn't anything like the one in, An American Werewolf in London, but it's not bad. We also get a dose of gore in spots as well.
Now we do have an issue in the film of our wolf using a bat to kill people more than once. Why does a wolf need a bat?? No wolf worth their grain in salt will need to beat someone to death, they'd simply maul someone to death. That's the one bad spot on this otherwise very fun and cool film. I will however add back some of the points lost by the film for this misstep by the fact that they at least build up some mystery as to who the wolf is. It's also a little anti-climatic, but besides that it's a pretty good time.
The Conclusion
It's a lot of wacky fun, but I don't think it's the greatest werewolf movie that has ever been made. It's of course still better than a great deal of other wolf movies that have came along over the years. If you want to see a wolf beat someone with a bat and a very strong performance from Gary Busey, this is for you.
The Rating (7.5/10)
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